The Commodore 64 version of Incentive‘s classic Driller is surprisingly good, considering that the machine isn’t particularly suited to this kind of game.

The graphics have a chunky, C64 charm and look about them, and the subdued colours work well in the context of an atmospheric science fiction game. The frame rate is probably the lowest of the 8-bit versions, but that’s okay if you know how to play the game properly (ie. by adjusting your steps and turns by using the increment keys). Driller is quite a slow game to play anyway, so the frame rate doesn’t really get in the way.

Playing Driller on 8-bit machines is an interesting piece of time travel on the subject of 3D gaming. Freescape, and Driller, was one of the very first attempts to create a fully explorable 3D world inside a video game.

Driller versions:
ZX Spectrum, Amstrad CPC, Atari ST, PC MS-DOS, Commodore 64.

More: Driller on Wikipedia